Battle to survive against all odds

HLUHLUWE’S Lungisani Mlaba faces an uphill battle to provide for his family after his mother passed away in 2015.

The 28-year-old says his whole world changed when he was left with the responsibility of breadwinner for the family of six.

‘Without a permanent job, my mother managed to put me through matric while also keeping our household afloat. I was the first of her children to finish Grade 12 and make it to university.

‘I completed a diploma in civil engineering at the Durban University of Technology thanks to a NSFAS loan.

‘My older brothers and sister are unemployed and my mother took on the responsibility of also taking care of her grandchildren while earning only R700 a month.

‘When she passed on I had finished my diploma, but was unemployed. I was able to get an internship and through the money I earned, took over where she left off.

‘I took care of the children, paid their school fees and covered household necessities,’ Mlaba said.

His struggle began when the 18 month internship programme came to an end and he could not gain permanent employment with the company.

‘I started getting other contract work, but it was mostly one month contracts and the money I received was not enough to cover all the expenses at home.

‘I would travel to Durban to look for employment, with no luck. I had to leave the children, two of whom are 14 years old and the other two 13, with my older sister, but she also looks young which is a risk as people knew there was no man around.

He said he eventually realised it was no longer safe for the children being left alone in eNseleni and they relocated to his grandmother’s house in Hluhluwe.

‘Some days were really hard because we had to rely on the food we received from other people to survive.

‘My grandmother passed on in 2014.’

The family now relies on social grants they receive for the young children and food donated by social workers, as well as help from some of his mother’s friends.

‘All I need is a job. I continue to look for work but I haven’t been able to secure anything. And right now with schools opening, I have been battling to get the children school uniforms and stationery.

‘But I keep hoping for a miracle and I keep pushing to try and find employment because these children are my family and they need me,’ he said.

Good Samaritan: Celimpilo Masondo (left) delivered food buckets to Lungisani Mlaba (far right) and his family in Hluhluwe